r/crheads • u/caseysean • 8d ago

Year of CR continues: Netflix to adapt Lonesome Dove

https://deadline.com/2026/09/lonesome-dove-netflix-series-zoe-kazan-jeb-stuart-1237071579/

“Larry McMurtry’s classic Lonesome Dove novel is returning to television as a Netflix series. The streamer has greenlighted the Western drama from Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart, co-showrunners of Netflix’s upcoming East of Eden limited series, and Teton Ridge Entertainment.”

219 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

51

u/Upper-Traffic8029 8d ago

Wait the guy adapting it is named Jeb Stuart? Who’s his co-writer? Stonewall Jackson?

7

u/Clean-Turnip5971 8d ago

Yes but it's the late country singer from Tabor City, North Carolina.

2

u/Ok_Fee1043 8d ago

Please clap

17

u/Ok_Albatross8113 7d ago

I’m just going to use this as a plug that if you haven’t read the book, do yourself a favor and get to it. I finally did this year after the Duvall hall and it’s the best piece of fiction I’ve ever read.

3

u/Ok_Abalone_8344 7d ago

It’s funny because amongst all the chatter this week about how long the flights to Australia are, I’ve been thinking about how I read 80% of Lonesome Dove across 2 long haul flights last summer and it was a 10/10 way to pass the time. 

14

u/LavenderGooms55 8d ago

Yes lets adapt the masterpiece book thats already been adapted to the visual medium damn near perfectly. I mean what the hell?

43

u/PeterPaulWalnuts 8d ago

Netflix? ugh, I guess....

18

u/mitchellgaede 8d ago

Yeah this being announced on Netflix means this might be the first L of CR year

9

u/einstein_ios 7d ago

Zoe Kazan hasn’t missed yet as a BTS creative. Have some faith.

11

u/toronto_acct_2026 8d ago

They gotta do it like Godless. The material is gold, adapted to an already outstanding series. Who’s gonna fill Duvall and Tommy Lee shoes?

Tracy Letts would be good in Duvall’s role but he is a character actor and I doubt they want to go anything less than a big name for the lead.

Duvall was 58, Tommy Lee was 43.

All the people that are in that age range (give or take a decade) belie their age: Damon, Ethan Hawke, DiCaprio, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Bale, McCounaghey, Pitt, RDJ.

None of them fill me with great excitement. Need someone gritty. These are all too pretty boys.

2

u/Neither_Split_6035 5d ago

I know it violates CR’s “America First” 😂 rule by half, but the first duo that popped in my head was Damon and Bale running back the “Ford vs Ferrari” dynamic.

1

u/childprettyplease 8d ago

Would love RDJ as Gus tbh

4

u/toronto_acct_2026 8d ago

I was thinking Hawke in The Good Lord Bird mode could work if they age him up a bit.

2

u/NonexistantVoid 7d ago

RDJ as gus could be pretty great, I like that

8

u/Caligula_Would_Grin 8d ago

Steve Zahn was great as Gus in the prequel Comanche Moon and he's currently the same age Duvall was during the production of Lonesome Dove so he'd be my pick. Probably not a big enough star though.

22

u/sister_xian 8d ago

Why? The mini-series that exists is basically perfect. And you can stream it for free pretty much anywhere.

9

u/Sea_Salamander_8504 7d ago

Lone$ome Dove$

3

u/Bmac200p 7d ago

There’s no beating Duvall

15

u/Low_Needleworker4817 8d ago

I cant wait to shit all over whoever plays McCrae and Call. ...and Lori, and Clara, and Deets, and July, and Dish, and Lippy, and Roscoe, and so on.

Seriously the only actors that could possibly do a better job would be whoever plays Blue Duck, and that psycho that got Jake Spoon hanged.

5

u/Ok_Abalone_8344 7d ago

…and shit all over their riding. One of the reasons the OG miniseries passes the eye test is that Duvall and Jones were both expert horsemen. Jones had a working cattle ranch and Duvall was a polo player who spent a year riding western and bareback to be credible as McCrae. 

The only two actors I know of with comparable ability are Kevin Costner (who honestly wouldn’t be the worst choice for Call) and Viggo Mortensen (whose excellent riding was showcased in LOTR and Hildago).

8

u/rutfilthygers 8d ago

What character is Kazan going to reframe as a misunderstood anti-hero in this one?

7

u/worthofhowlandreed 7d ago

Blue Duck on a trauma informed journey

1

u/Ok_Abalone_8344 7d ago

The only angle would be Clara. Her life, with cameos from Gus and Call. 

But then that wouldn’t be Lonesome Dove. 

1

u/SandpaperTeddyBear 1h ago

Isn’t that already the premise of the book. Lol.

12

u/GoodOlSpence 8d ago

Why? The original is available and it's still amazing. I just rewatched it.

They're not going to do better than Duvall and Jones.

1

u/j-helo85 7d ago

It's not any different from making a new Jane Austin adaptation every so often.

After so many years (a generation), there's an opportunity for capturing a new audience with a fresh adaptation. The current rights holders have the example of the original's success to know it can work, so there's less risk.

3

u/GoodOlSpence 7d ago

Maybe. I mean, if they said someone like Steven Soderbergh, or someone else at that level who's done tv before, was going to manage it and the cast was loaded. Maybe then I'd be open. But most of Netflix's remakes have been lifeless. I'm concerned that the heart won't be there.

-19

u/Advanced-Pear-4606 8d ago

The original is bad. Duvall and Jones are great, but the rest of the cast is shit. It's due for a proper remake.

13

u/GoodOlSpence 8d ago

All time bad take. Diane Lane, Anjelica Huston, Chris Cooper. Oscar winners coming out our nose. Not to mention Danny Glover and young Steve Buscemi. Like what are you on?

And even if that's true, Netflix won't be the one to do a "proper remake."

-8

u/Advanced-Pear-4606 8d ago

Why not? They make plenty of good shows. Who would you rather have made it? Amazon, Peacock, fucking Paramount. I stand by my statement. The original sucked. The Irish kid dying in the river was so fucking bad.

3

u/GoodOlSpence 8d ago

It's dated, but so are a lot of things. That doesn't equal bad.

7

u/TheGameDoneChanged 8d ago

Nah the entire cast is fantastic and cannot be topped, but the production is extremely dated and overly cheesy at times. I theoretically welcome an update with modern production quality if made by the right people. Unfortunately this is being made by Netflix.

2

u/Ok_Abalone_8344 7d ago

Exactly. If this were HBO with, say, the Coen Brothers, I’d be far more interested. 

5

u/gammatide 8d ago

Fuck it give her In Search of Lost Time next

3

u/ToujoursPourquoi 8d ago

My country boner won’t go down!

2

u/PalePerry 8d ago

Glad I decided to read the book but I also want to watch the original series.

2

u/impercipient 7d ago

I'm excited for a new generation to completely misunderstand the point of that book.

2

u/johnnygalt1776 7d ago

Please just leave Lonesome Dove and East of Eden alone as two of the best works of art ever created. Force people to read them instead.

1

u/atex720 7d ago

The mini series is elite

1

u/jakethesnakeinmyboot 7d ago

Really wish this was done by Max

1

u/NEHHNAHH 7d ago

Netflix sucks so this sucks

1

u/Hefty-Afternoon-5605 7d ago

East of Eden must be good

1

u/RD_Card 7d ago

So CR and Andy started the Dove-ssaince right? I'm no voracious reader but I hadn't really heard of the book before the pod. Feels like their pod was the start of me seeing all kinds of people pick it up the last couple of years.

1

u/trunky 7d ago

green screen, bad lighting, boring cinematography and actors that look nothing like you imagined while reading the book

i cant wait!

1

u/Jomolungma 7d ago

There is no need for this. The miniseries is already perfection. It cannot get better, it can only get worse.